Every flat-knit factory quotes a minimum order quantity, but the number means different things depending on how it's structured. Ours is 250 units per colour, per size — here's exactly how that multiplies across a real capsule, and how Australian brands keep a first order lean.
"MOQ 250" sounds small until you see how it's applied. Our minimum is 250 units per colour, per size — every colour-and-size combination in a style needs its own run of at least 250 pieces. A single style in one colour and one size is a 250-unit order. The same style in three colours and five sizes is fifteen combinations, each needing 250 — 3,750 in total. Brands new to this sometimes assume 250 is the whole order and are surprised at quote stage. It isn't a bait-and-switch — it's how flat-knit production works, and once you understand the multiplication, it's straightforward to plan a capsule that fits your budget.
The total order size is colours × sizes × 250. Widening either variable widens the total fast. Some real scenarios:
| Capsule shape | Colour-size SKUs | Total units (× 250) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 style, 1 colour, 3 core sizes (S/M/L) | 3 | 750 |
| 1 style, 2 colours, 4 sizes (S–XL) | 8 | 2,000 |
| 1 style, 3 colours, 5 sizes (XS–XL) | 15 | 3,750 |
| 2 styles, 2 colours, 4 sizes each | 16 | 4,000 |
Indicative — actual per-unit pricing and total value depend on gauge, yarn and construction. Ask for a quote against your real spec.
This isn't an arbitrary pricing rule. Our factory works in WHOLEGARMENT and fully-fashioned flat knit on Shima Seiki and Stoll machines — each size is knitted to its finished shape directly, with its own knitting programme, rather than cut from a bolt of fabric the way a cut-and-sew garment is graded across sizes. Add a colour and you add a separate yarn dye lot and a separate machine setup. Two hundred and fifty is roughly the point at which a colour-size run is worth the setup time — smaller than that, the changeover cost per unit gets uneconomic for us to quote fairly. It's a production reality, not a number chosen to look attractive on a landing page.
Most Australian brands testing us for the first time don't run the full colour-size matrix on order one. A few levers that keep the total down without giving up the ability to expand later:
S/M/L instead of XS–XXL cuts the SKU count in half. You can always add XS and XL on a reorder once you know where Australian demand actually sits, rather than committing 250 units to a size you're guessing about.
A single hero colourway, or two, is enough to test a new silhouette in-market. If it sells, the third colour becomes a data-backed reorder decision rather than a guess baked into the first commitment.
If you're moving to WHOLEGARMENT or fully-fashioned for the first time, piloting one style — say, a crewneck — before committing a full range keeps the first order to a single set of SKUs while you assess quality and fit against your Australian sizing standards.
A 1-colour, 3-size or 2-colour, 4-size first order (750–2,000 units) is a common starting point for a boutique or DTC brand testing Turkish WHOLEGARMENT knit before scaling into the full matrix on a proven bestseller.
We'll say this plainly: for a narrow first order, our per-SKU structure isn't automatically the smaller commitment. Many Chinese factories quote a flat minimum — commonly 500–1,000+ units per style — distributable across colours and sizes however you like. For one colour in a narrow size range, that flat number can land close to, or above, our 250-per-SKU total. The two diverge as the matrix widens: a Chinese factory's flat minimum stays fixed regardless of how many colours or sizes you spread it across, so a wide assortment can cost less there in total units. The trade-off is what you get for it — a shared pool usually means thinner stock depth per size once sliced fifteen ways, while our per-SKU minimum guarantees a dedicated run and consistent dye lot for every size you commit to.
It applies to any production run. A reorder of an existing colour and size still needs to clear 250 units for that SKU — though reorders are usually easier to plan, since you're working from real sell-through data instead of a forecast.
No — the minimum sits at the colour-size level within a single style, since that's what sets the machine changeover and dye lot. Two styles can't share a 250-unit run, even if the combined quantity clears 250.
Be aware of the math: 5 colours × even 1 size = 1,250 units minimum, and most ranges need more than one size. If keeping the order small matters more than colour breadth, narrow colours first — it's the more efficient lever.
Multiply target colours × sizes × 250 for total units, then ask us for an FOB unit price against your actual spec — gauge, yarn and construction move the number more than volume does. From there, build a landed-cost model in AUD including freight, duty and clearance.
Send us your target style, colours and size range and we'll quote against the real matrix — no guessing, no rounding up. We'll also flag where narrowing the first order makes sense before you commit.